1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the growth of an organism, and more particularly, to a growth control apparatus that allows a user to rapidly switch one or more predetermined growth conditions selected from, for example, wavelength of light, temperature, concentration of carbon dioxide, concentration of oxygen, nutrients, water content, humidity and the like, from one state to another, based upon the species of the organism to be grown. Besides the biologically perceptible physical quantity described above, additional messages with positive energy, such as words, sounds, ideas and the like, may be transmitted to the organism according to the invention, so as to optimize the growth conditions required by the organism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Traditional cultivating plantations typically require vast open fields and could easily suffer from unstable crop yield due to their susceptibility to weather changes, not to mention that they are highly vulnerable to attack by ambient pathogens. Therefore, high value crops are often cultivated in facilities with controlled light illumination and water/air supply, in a bid to harvest crops with stable quality and high yield.
It is known that almost all living organisms need sunlight to grow and that the duration, intensity and wavelength of light illumination, among other growth conditions for organisms, are critical factors influencing the quality of the organisms thus grown. Further, cultivatable plants can be roughly classified into light-demanding plants (such as fruit trees, flowering plants, broad-leaved trees, and cacti), semi-shade-loving plants (including most of potted flowers, and ornamental foliage plants with mottled or striped leaves), shade-tolerant plants (such as ornamental foliage plants with deep green leaves), according to their preference for cultivation sites. However, their sensitivity to light may vary with the environment where they grow. For instance, some organisms possess high tolerance to light at low temperature, but exhibiting much lower tolerance to light at an elevated temperature.
As such, the regulation of the level of light illuminated on a cultivated crop based on the cultivation characteristics thereof is a critical factor that determines success or failure of the cultivation. However, modern technology can only be applied to control the duration of light illumination, or adjust the intensity, frequency, duty ratio and phase shift of light illumination as taught in R.O.C. Patent Nos. 421994 and I231852. On the other hand, a biological parameter feedback control system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,598. The techniques known in the art are proved unable to rapidly obtain the environmental control parameters required by an organism and, thus, cannot built up a control system that is capable of achieving an optimum cultivation environment for the organism.